If you’re debating putting your home out as For Sale By Owner (FSBO) in Arlington, Texas, it’s crucial to weigh the pros and cons both on an individual level and for your area. Selling your home on your own without a realtor may be what’s right for you! However, you may be asking yourself “is it hard to sell a house?” and it may be more complicated than you think.
Sellers often decide to go with FSBO to cut on the cost of paying a real estate agent, which is understandable! Real estate agents make a lot, but they also do a lot of the legwork for the seller; that’s why evaluating all aspects is so important.
One of the current concerns for someone selling a house without a realtor in Arlington, Texas, is how competitive the market is for buyers and what responsibilities you’ll take on as a sole-seller. Of course, this is the sort of avenue that sellers utilize best when the market favors sellers, but it isn’t always that straightforward. Housing markets are often volatile, changing at the drop of a hat or peaking at the strangest times.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when debating selling a house without a realtor in Arlington, Texas.
Texas Real Estate Market Overview
For 2021, Texas real estate is in a state of flux but remains an excellent market for investors, as the housing market nationwide has been in a strange state from current events.
The forecast for Texan sellers in 2021 was a good one, projecting that most homes would go for approximately $162 per square foot, with a median property price of just under $360k. With a projection of over 47,000 listings on the market in Texas, a seller’s home would need to be competitive to make an impact. In addition, realty advisors predicted the traditional cash on cash returns to 2.7%, which was promising for sellers.
As of July 2021, much of this has been surpassed, going above the prediction for price per square foot by averaging at $180. However, median selling prices went only slightly above market predictions at $362k, and the year-to-date sales rose above 58,000.
When the economy slows, so do housing sales, but Texas has been sustaining high population growth in recent years, and those numbers only seem to be rising.
Pros and Cons of FSBO in Texas
From Houston to Fort Worth, selling your home in Texas puts you in a unique position: you know your home better than anybody else. You’re the expert! And if you’re selling it on your own, it’s essential to keep the good and the bad in mind. Preparation is your best friend when you want to sell your home alone, so be sure to consult every avenue of research that you have to give you an edge over the competition.
The Good:
- Competitive pricing option – No commission to a realtor means you can drop the price of your home enough to entice buyers to look your way without losing anything substantial to your return on investment.
- You’re in control – Your home. Your investment. Your rules. You can negotiate as you see fit and refuse or go through with a transaction that fits your needs.
- Working at your own pace – Rather than feeling rushed through by a realtor or other professionals, you can take your time and assess options that need more attention.
The Bad:
- No network of professionals – Selling alone has the disadvantage of lacking a network of trusted partners to help. Contractors, inspectors, home improvement specialists, and notaries are all people a real estate agent will have on speed dial.
- Emotional and physical toll – Selling a home is labor-intensive, whether it’s the emotional labor of dealing with numerous unpleasant buyers or physically taxing due to the amount of work needed for all arrangements.
- Your home may sell for less – Statistically speaking, most FSBO homes sell for much less than the market median of their type of home. So FSBO may mean losing out on a financial gain if things lack careful deliberation.
The Ugly:
Keeping in mind all avenues will prepare you for all hiccups within selling a house without a realtor. You need to know how to list, where to list, how to stage photos or show the home, and more. It’s a significant endeavor that requires many smaller tasks to all go according to plan. Research is your friend!
FSBO vs Selling with a Realtor in Arlington
When you are looking for someone to buy your house in Fort Worth and surrounding areas on your own, you have to understand the market, research various listing sites that sole-sellers utilize, market your own home, and be sure to price it reasonably regardless of personal feelings. Selling your home on your own is an emotionally taxing and labor-intensive undertaking, but you have the potential to make incredible gains on your investment.
Selling with a realtor may also be your ultimate decision if you decide that selling alone isn’t going to be the avenue that benefits you most. Realtors have an extensive network of professionals, access to ways of qualifying buyers, and marketing techniques that get your home in front of the eyes of buyers who would be best suited to purchase your home!
Keeping in mind both of these points, you’ll be ready to make a decision.
Selling a House By Yourself in Texas
Remember: you know your home best! However, a significant transaction like this one means you need to be aware of every avenue available to you if you decide to sell alone. First, peruse the homes currently for sale in your area to get an idea of what yours might sell for. Next, see what those homes are listing for and if the listing was or has been active for a long time with no bites. If a home similar to yours has been on the market for a long time, it may be overpriced and turn potential buyers away.
Of course, having help is always great, but it isn’t always feasible. Moreover, suppose you don’t have an extensive network of professionals to evaluate your home, inspect, repair, or do other things. In that case, you may not be able to sell it traditionally and have to find other means to sell your home by yourself.
Due to these roadblocks, many sellers simply prefer to go the easy route and sell to cash buyers or companies that purchase property regularly, making things slightly more accessible and cutting out a lot of the red tape that would slow the process down. Investors are always up for opportunities to scoop up good homes, and it may be a route that works well for your situation.
Additionally, many people and companies are in the business of flipping, and they’ll give you top dollar if your property is a prime spot!
Sell Your House to a Cash Home Buyer
If you decide to seek out cash home buyers in Arlington and surrounding areas, you may mitigate the need to qualify the buyer. Qualifying the buyer is a huge deal when traditionally selling your home, especially when doing it without a realtor. You can do it! But remember that you have to set a realistic price for your home to entice cash buyers.
Of course, you want to get what it’s worth, make a return on the time and emotional or physical labor you put into it; knowing the market and what it’s worth within that market is crucial to whether or not you make a sale or the house sits on a listing for months or even years.
So, why prefer a cash home buyer? Not only does it help you avoid the above concerns, but you can also sell your house as-is without putting in the extra time, money, and effort that you could be dedicating to your new home.
Selling Your House As-Is
When you need to sell your home as-is and can’t afford to put any more of your personal finances into it, utilizing the purchasing power of a property-buying company can be incredibly helpful to sellers that are at their wit’s end.
Making the gain or loss and moving on will put you on the path to better endeavors, potentially removing the roadblock of a house you can’t keep or don’t want anymore. It has its benefits.
Bringing It Home—Your Home, That Is
You want to sell your home and return on the time and effort you put into it; everybody wants a fair price for something they work hard on. Sometimes doing it alone is the most promising; sometimes, enlisting the help of a real estate agent is the best for an individual.
The forecast for your local or state-wide housing market and researching every avenue available to you need to be your top priorities if you’re selling your home. Then, carefully deliberating the pros and cons of selling alone, selling to cash buyers, simply selling as-is, or some mix of all choices, you can make that return on your investment and earn what your home deserves.
If you’re looking for companies that buy houses in Texas, using some of the above options may be one of the best decisions for your situation. However, only you know what your position requires, and we hope that these detailed and thorough tips help with whatever decision you make!